Diary of an Assassin
by xbelle
Summary: Matilda Royal. Average height. Brown hair. Assassin on the run. What do you do when you're stuck in a world controlled by men, money, and blood? 2xOC/5xOC, language, slight death scenes. Slow updates. BEING REWRITTEN.
1. Prolouge

Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own Gundam Wing or any of its characters... except for Matilda XD

* * *

"Anything?"

"No. There's nothing left… it's like someone's completely wiped them out."

"Roger that, then. Zero Two, Zero Three, commence search."

Two of the five Gundams stepped forward into the silent battlefield. The bodies of mobile suits littered the ground with no signs of life. It was as if an atomic bomb had wiped out a ten kilometre radius of the area.

"I'm picking up something on the radar," the pilot of the Heavyarms said, "A few metres from where you are, Duo."

"I'm on it." The second pilot followed the signal he was now picking up on his heat radar. "That's weird, I've got a hot spot on screen… but there nothing but rubble." He moved away the twisted pieces of metal with his Gundam, not caring where the fell. "Uh, Trowa," he said, "I think you should come have a look at this."

Duo jumped out of the cockpit just as the other boy joined him. Together, they pried open the badly damaged cockpit hatch with their bare hands on the mobile suit the were standing on. The alloy lurched and easily buckled from the damage done to it.

"God, what is that?" Duo asked blinking a couple of times, trying to register the dark, sticky stuff covering the interior.

"It's… blood."

Duo said something into the walky-talky attached to his jacket while Trowa carefully edged towards the _dead_ pilot. A helmet covered the pilots face, the once screen was now just fragments of glass embedded into his face. He slowly put his fingers to the pilots neck.

"Anything?" Duo said from behind him.

Trowa held his breath as he waited… and waited. He shook his head, drawing back from the dead pilot and heading back to his Gundam. Duo took a step forward and looked at the dead pilot, wiping away the blood that covered his face. Only then did he realise that _he_ was actually a _she_.

"Damn it," he swore. Duo slowly pulled the barely visible dog tag from her neck and stuffed it in his jacket pocket; at least if he knew who she was, she didn't die in vain. He turned away, cursing that the war had brought another death, and not only to an ally soldier, a girl who was the same age as the rest of them.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own it, so sue me...

* * *

_**Brooklyn, New York**_

Matilda tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, smearing her forehead with black oil in the process. She followed the blue wire with her finger and yanked it out of its connector, feeling around the floor for a replacement.

"Royal!" Sighing, she got up from her crouching position, leaning against the lime green, Kawasaki Ninja 250R; hoping to get some feeling back into her legs.

"Matt. Out the front!" he boss yelled from his office.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm going," she yelled back, "Stupid fat-ass, can't even run his own business." Wiping her hands on the rag in her oversized pocket, she made her way to the front desk where two guys were waiting.

"Hi," she said, digging through a pile of papers to find theirs. "Theee… Orange Z1000, right?" Matilda lifted her head to look at them, trying to remember which one his was.

"Yeah, and the Ninja," the blonde of the pair said.

She wrinkled her nose, "Just finished rewiring that one. Really nice piece." She typed a few numbers onto the computer and waited for the screen to load, "Okay, so for the two that comes to a total of… one-thousand two-hundred." She took his card swiped it and got him to sign the receipt.

"Great," she said, "If you want to just follow me, you can go get your bikes." She walked off back into the garage. By now her co-worker, Geoff, had blasted up the radio. "Here's the 250R, and the Z1000," she looked around, "Should be here somewhere, just hold on."

Jogging over to Geoff, she pulled out the plug for the radio, launching the place into quiet. "Oi, where'd you put the orange Kawasaki?" she asked, rubbing her ear from the noise.

He thought for a moment, "I think Isaac or Brett moved it over there, next to the Aston Martin." He motion towards the car by the back, rolling door, not even turning away from his work.

She called the blonde and his friend over. "And -finally- the Z1000," she said, wincing when Geoff turned the music back on. She rolled her eyes, "Sorry bout him."

The blonde hardly suppressed a smile. "Thanks," he said, slipping on the helmet under his arm and heading out, his silent friend behind him.

Smiling to herself, Matilda glanced up at the clock by one of the windows; 5:58. Deciding that she could probably leave two minutes early, she slipped of her stained overalls and hung them up in her locker, before grabbing her bag and leaving the auto body repair shop.

x.x.x

It was odd that there weren't many people on the streets for a Thursday night. The cool night breeze tickled Matilda's face as she walked towards her apartment block. Strangely enough, even though she was a part-time mechanic who knew almost everything about motorbikes, she didn't even have her own bike, let alone a car.

Spotting a couple of thuggish looking guys up ahead, she briskly crossed the road, not wanting to get into any trouble. She let out a breath when their voices disappeared, but almost screamed when someone grabbed her by the waist, _almost_.

"Well hello there, little miss girlie," a voice said from behind her. Matilda struggled against her captor but froze when she felt something sharp and hard being pressed against her neck. "That's right, you struggle like the little bitch you are," he breathed into her ear, "James, get her bag."

The other idiot yanked her bag off her shoulder, causing her to yelp again. But this time, it didn't go unnoticed. She could hear footsteps rapidly approaching. "Oi, Harley, someone's coming."

He didn't even get to reply. Matilda's reflexes instantly got her into attack mode from the minute he loosened his grip. She broke free from him then landed a roundhouse kick right to his chest. Hearing the satisfying sound of his breath leaving him, she turned to the other guy. He pulled out a gun and fired a shot. She wasn't even aware that she'd been hit until she felt the unmistakable feeling of a blade slicing through her skin. Her first attacker had somehow had gotten back on his feet and was wielding the knife like a sword.

"Hey, man. Let's get out of here," one of the two said in a panicked voice, and just like that, they were gone. Matilda sank down on the pavement, the sounds of footsteps getting louder, thankful for the darkness so that whoever was coming didn't see her _attack_ her _attackers_.

"Hey, you okay?" someone knelt down in front of her.

She gave a fake smile, "Yeah, I'm fine." But when she tried to stand up, almost doubled over in pain.

"Hey, hey, hey. You're _not_ okay," the guy said, "Come on, lets get you to a hospital."

Matilda silently shook her head and took in a breath. "Nah, my apartment's right there anyway." She nodded towards the looming building behind them. The guy helped her to her feet, grabbed her bag, and literally carried her to the front door of her apartment. The normally thirty second trip into the building and up four flights of stairs seemed to take forever, in the end, her saviour opted to pick her up and carry her.

"I'm Duo, by the way, Duo Maxwell," he said as she painfully fished out her keys from her bag.

She gave a soft smile, "Matilda Royal," before opening the door. He helped her to the couch where she slowly lay down, somehow clutching her right arm and covering a bleeding gash at the same time.

"Top right drawer by the sink," she said, asking the question he barely even begun to say. He moved towards the kitchenette and came back with a couple of bandages and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide in his arms. He set the bottle and bandages down on the coffee table then carefully peeled her shirt away from the slow bleeding gash.

"You weren't shot were you?" he asked, swabbing the cut with the antiseptic, hearing her hiss under her breath from the sting. She shook her head. "Good, 'cause I heard a couple of shots." He continued his task, wrapping a bandage around her lower chest then moving on to the bullet graze on her arm.

"You're positive that you don't wanna go to the hospital and get this checked out, right?"

"Yeah, I'm right," she said, wincing as he put a little too much pressure on her arm, "It's not gunna kill me or anything, aye?"

He let out a chuckle, "Yeah, well. Better safe than sorry." Once done, he stuck his hand in his pocket, pulled out a folded napkin and grabbed a pen of the coffee table. He wrote down something on the napkin and pressed it into Matilda's hand. "In case you need anything," he said, standing up to leave.

"Thanks," she smiled, slowly picking herself off the couch and following him to the door.

"Hey, you know what," he suddenly turned around, "How 'bout I make it up to you."

She raised an eyebrow, "Yeah… but you didn't do anything." Somehow, she suppressed a laugh.

"Well, you know… I mean, I feel really bad for you, so… how about I take you out to dinner sometime this week. Say, Friday, around six?"

Matilda let out a real laugh this time. "I almost get mugged by two complete idiots, saved by some complete stranger and now he's asking me out on a date?" Duo had the look of disappointment already plastered onto his face. "Dinner would be lovely," she grinned. His expression instantly lit up, making her laugh again.

"Okay then, I'll pick you up at six on Friday," he winked, then, in an instant, he had disappeared down the corridor. She smiled to herself. Today would have to be the weirdest day of her entire life.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is [not] mine! Except for Mattie Royal

* * *

"Come on, you stupid little man," Matilda hissed under her breath, she tightened her grip on the M107 .50 calibre, long-range sniper rifle. She had spent the last three hours on a freezing rooftop, risking being seen, all to get to this one guy someone wanted dead so badly. She sighed, hoping that he'd appear in his townhouse soon.

Right after she swore to herself never to take on a cheap, one-shot mission again, he appeared. Coming out of the car that just parked. Thin and scrawny would be an understatement, the man looked like he was a stick bug suffering anorexia. He had a balding patch on his head and bags under his eyes, making him look like he was in a fight. In his right hand he held a tattered briefcase, and in his left, a set of keys. Matilda made her move quickly.

Aiming the crosshair to his chest, she made sure no one else was on the street before squeezing on the trigger and hearing the satisfying sound of the bullet passing through the silencer. The man fell flat on his back, dead before he hit the ground. Without taking a second glace, she picked herself off the roof from her lying position and started to swiftly dismantle her rifle. She glanced at her watch; 5:51.

"Shit," she muttered, jumping down from the fire escape stairs and starting to run back to her apartment. Friday had come so quickly. It was only four days ago that she was shot and almost stabbed with a knife, _and_ met a saviour under the name of Duo Maxwell. She smiled at the thought of him, he was such an sweetheart even though she didn't even know anything other than his name.

She practically flew up the stairs and down the hallway after the ten minute sprint back to her apartment, managing to dig out the keys at the same time. Matilda dumped the bag with the rifle somewhere on the couch and used the bathroom for possibly the shortest time in her entire life. Entering her bedroom with a towel securely wrapped around her, she pulled out a pair of light-coloured jeans, a black spaghetti strap top and grey-striped jacket. She wasn't much of a dressy person, majority of her clothes were just jeans and shirts, hardly any dresses or skirts .

Just as she was about to walk out of her room, there was the inevitable knock at her door. Grinning like a Cheshire cat, she strolled over, put her hand on the lock and handle, and simultaneously turned them.

"Hello there, gorgeous. You right to go out?" Duo asked, flashing a grin.

x.x.x

Two hours and two ice-cream cones later, the pair were aimlessly wandering through the well maintained, city park. Matilda was balancing along the low, narrow borders of the garden beds, while Duo, being the _partly_-responsible young adult he was, walked beside her, gentle holding her arm as if to catch her if she fell.

"Okay, so let me get this straight," she said, hopping down from the ledge, "You live in a townhouse with four other guys who you fought in the war with, are your best friends, one of them is _the_ Quatre Middle-Name-Starting-With-An-'R' Winner, and yet he won't let you guys stay in one of his gazillion mansions?"

"He doesn't believe we're civilized enough to live in an actual house. And it's Raberba," he replied simply.

Matilda raised an eyebrow, "Civilized in what way? I reckon my place could easily outdo the local dump." She jumped down from the concrete ledge. "I think that Quatre guy came past the auto shop a couple of days ago, he had a reaally nice Kawasaki Ninja, although the paint job on it was horrible."

"You own an auto shop?"

She shook her head, "No, I just work part-time at one; the one on Freya Street." They neared the main road which was a silent as the night itself.

"You want a lift home?" he asked, crossing the deserted street, Matilda behind him.

She raised an eyebrow, "You didn't have a car with you." He tapped his nose and pulled out a set of keys, walking the stairs to one of the townhouses and unlocking the door. "Did you plan this, Duo?" she said, clearly surprised.

"No, I just so happened to remember that the house was across from the park," he said, flicking a couple of light switches on.

"So, you mean to say you normally forget where you live?"

"No, I meant-"

"Maxwell!" He was cut off midsentence by a voice from upstairs. "Did you get the files from Sally?" A brown-haired figure came down the stairs, a laptop in one hand and a coffee mug in the other.

"No, I told Quatre to get them," he retorted, "I said I was busy-"

"Unreliable bastard."

Feeling shunned aside, Matilda muttered to herself, "Some manners." He glared at her as if she were vermin in the house. Taking it as a threat, she stood her ground, not breaking eye contact until Duo broke in.

"Uh, Heero," Duo said, "this is _Matilda Royal_. She works at the auto shop Quatre normally goes to."

"Hn." He brushed past her and went into the kitchen, supposedly getting more coffee. Matilda rolled her eyes and motioned to Duo that they should get going.

"Friendly roomie. I could so imagine him on a Monday morning," she said sarcastically once they had slid inside the silver Porsche.

Duo laughed, "Every morning is a Monday with him around." The car glided across the streets, missing almost every red-light and stop sign.

"So, he's a smooth-talker _and_ can drive a car. I'm impressed," she laughed, relaxing against the passenger seat. "Make a right here." The car made a sharp, neat turn into Wilmington Street before pulling up in front of her apartment block. Letting out a sigh, Matilda rested her head against the cool, glass window.

"What is it?" he said, the look of concern in his eyes.

"Hm? Oh, nothing. It's just," she closed her eyes. "The night's just beginning and our date's almost over. I mean, not that that's a good thing; the date I mean, not the night just beginning. And I would ask if you wanted to come in but my place is a mess, and before you can even think about what you're about to think about, I don't even think there's enough space for you to lie down even _if_ I threw out some of the junk lying around," -Matilda took a breath- "and I'd just like you to know that I really, really, really enjoyed tonight."

Duo looked at her, bewildered. "I… uh. Thanks?" She leaned over and gave him a peck on the lips.

"See you around, sometime soon," she winked, and just like that, disappeared into the concrete building. Once inside her apartment, Matilda raced to her laptop, violently flipped open the lid and punched in the command for a video-call.

"Whut?" snapped the boy who appeared onscreen, heavy lidded and without a shirt on from sleep. "If ya haven't noticed, its two in the morning here." He ran a hand through his already messed up, chocolate brown hair.

"Yeah, yeah," Matilda rolled her eyes, "Elliott, I've got a serious problem."

He raised an eyebrow, "More serious than the _last_ time you called?"

"It's Yuy."

Elliott froze.


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Gundam is still not mine *sigh*

* * *

"Hey, this is Matilda, I'm either not here right now or ignoring your call, so leave a message. Thanks."

"Babe, where are you? It's been a week… Did I do something wrong? C'mon, just pick up the phone, please babe… "

"Duo, any luck?" Quatre asked, concern clearly evident in his eyes.

"No," he sighed. "I dunno, it's just like she's disappeared of the face of the earth." Solemnly, he dragged his feet towards the garage, digging his care keys out his jeans pocket.

"Where're you going?" he asked.

"Brooklyn."

"Why?"

" Because."

"Duo-"

"God, Quatre," he snapped, before slamming the door in his face.

x.x.x

_**L3 Shadow Colony**_

The hot, humid air mixed with car exhaust hit her like a brick wall when she stepped out from the spaceport. Taxis were lined neatly across the road from the exit, while porters and passengers littered the street. She swung her duffle bag over her shoulder and headed down the path, ignoring the calls from the porter boys telling her it's unsafe to walk the streets alone.

x.x.x

_**Manhattan, New York**_

Duo felt his heart sink when the image appeared on the screen. Almost black hair, deep chocolate eyes, tan skin.

"_Matilda_," he felt himself whisper. Heero was staring at the image on screen with hatred, if looks could kill, the projector screen would have turned to ashes long ago.

"This is Keira Madison Darwin, also known as Matilda Darwin-Royal. She is a top-class assassin working for the Rouge Shadow Organization." Une's voice cut through the clean, air-conditioned air like a knife, "The _RSO_ houses almost all fugitives and enemies towards the Sanc Kingdom and the United Earth-Sphere Nation."

_Matilda Darwin-Royal… not a killer_, he thought. _Not a killer_.

"We have sufficient evidence to believe that she, and other members of the RSO, have been constructing a replica Gundam Mobile Suit similar to the reconstructed versions of yours."

He could _hear_ his heart beating, the sweat beads forming around his face. No one else knew this was her, that this was her name, except for Heero, but he wouldn't say anything… would he? His eyes darted around the room, looking at the blank expressions that the rest of his pilots were wearing.

"An informant has told us that she has a residence on the L3 Shadow Colony," she continued, the slide behind her changed to show a street scene that looked somewhat like London on a dark, gloomy day. "It was the very fist L3 colony built, and therefore the oldest and most forgotten. It is the head city of the RSO, and is almost completely controlled by them."

"So what do you want us to do about it?" It was Wufei who had spoken up, obviously annoyed by Une's blabbing.

She cleared her throat. "What I want you to do," her eyes narrowed, like in those old, cowboy movies, "Is to take her down; bring her and that pathetic piece of junk she calls a Gundam back to us. Death would be something she wouldn't fear, she's killed too many to be afraid of it."

Duo felt his chest tighten. Words ringing around his head like someone had just hit a bell right next to his ear. The colour had drained out of his face long ago, but somehow, he had managed to make it out of the conference room, clutching the mission files tightly in his hands.

"Duo…?," someone called, "Duo!" A sharp jolt in his back pulled him back to reality, he suddenly noticed that he was standing in front of the open door to his office.

"Whu- What?" he said, completely bewildered.

"We're gunna go to the café down the street then head back and start packing," Quatre said, "You coming with us?"

_Nah, I'm just gunna mope around here until I finally believe that Une wasn't lying about her_, he thought. "Um, sure, why not. Shotgun not paying!" he bounded down off the corridor, a little more _Duo_ in his step.

x.x.x

_**L3 Shadow Colony**_

"So you're sure it was the idiot in the Gundam, right?" Elliott asked, over a cup of coffee. It was late afternoon on L3, the streets were crowded with market stalls and shoppers.

"I'd know him from a mile away," Matilda replied, eying a stall that sold fresh chamomile stems. "How much is the chamomile?"

"Five for a bunch. But seriously, don't you think you're overreacting?"

"Well you weren't there when he was staring you down like a bloody hawk!" she snapped, causing a few heads to turn.

"But, Matt, he probably didn't even recognise you. It's been three years," he said, grabbing his messenger bag of the ground and hanging it off his shoulder as they started to leave. Matilda stopped at one of the stalls, dried bunches of flowers and herbs hung from the wooden beams and canvas roofing.

"Two, thanks." She handed over ten dollar bill. "Elliott, I'm dead serious. He saw me, and he already killed Marc. Who's to say I wont be next?"

They walked the streets to the suburbs in silence. The only sound was their footsteps and the traffic that zoomed past. There was not much light weather in the L3 Shadow Colony, no cool wind, or hot, humid days. Only blizzards of gushing wind, floods that could fill the dams three times over and heat that could cook an egg if you left it on the pavement.

Matilda's ears prickled, she could hear the sound of heavy breathing and fast paced footsteps. She took out her phone from her pocket and sent a quick message, before slipping it away. Luckily for her, Elliott was holding his phone in his hand; he opened the text message before the sound alert had even rung.

_'B-in follwd. Dnt look. Act norm.'_

He glanced sideways at her, slightly nodding his head. Her eyes were darting all over the place, looking for escape routes and detours they could use to get away.

"So how's Jana?" she asked in code, indicating for them to turn right at the next street, _Jana Street_.

"Pretty good I guess. I think she may have _caught on to us_ though, I mean with the project and all…"

_I think the idiot behind us has caught on, run?_

"What do you mean? Who do you think told her?" she asked, turning her head slightly to face him.

_For sure, on your mark, Elliott._

He sighed, an exaggerated sigh. "I dunno, but we should go, right, about, now!" he whispered, then took off, Matilda by his side. She ignored the fact that basic instinct was telling her to turn around and look at her pursuer.

"Left at Wells, loose him in city!" she yelled, her heart hammering in her chest. Elliott yelled out something in agreement, but it was lost somewhere in the rush of traffic near the main road. She was running like a hare, and tiring fast, she could feet the vibrations of her feet pounding on the pavement.

Turning the corner, she barged through a crowd of shoppers and office workers, earning many shouts and curses, but she didn't care, as long as she kept Elliott in sight and the stalker far, far away. Elliott ducked into a shopping centre, pushing past the revolving doors and punching the lift buttons.

"Think we lost him?" she asked, out of breath. A few people were staring at them, though it wasn't uncommon to see people taking refuge in shopping centres from the officials and other hired kidnappers.

"No, not yet," he replied, hurrying inside the elevator as the metallic, silver doors slid open. "Okay, now we are." Matilda rolled her eyes and slid down the side of the elevator, how could he still have a sense of humour at a time like this.


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing isn't mine... yet!!

* * *

The Weaponry was dead quite when Matilda walked in; she couldn't even hear the sound of blades being sharpened against the blocks of whetstone at the back of the shop. Her footfalls were muffled by the mite-bitten rugs that lay all over the floor.

"Jayde!" she called out, pulling out a switchblade from her back pocket, "You here?" There was the squeaking of a chair as it was pushed backwards and crockery being placed on a table.

"Yep, out the back," she yelled back. Coming out of the doorway to the back room of the Weaponry, a red-haired girl waltzed towards Matilda, engulfing her in a massive hug, struggling to put the blade away. "How have you been?" she said, beaming, "It's been ages. You know, the guys at the RSO were starting to think you'd left for the other side."

Matilda crinkled her nose, but wore the same expression of joy. "Yeah, well. A lot of stuff has happened. Got caught up at the London Base a couple of weeks ago." She tried to look past her shoulder to who was at the back of the store. "Who's out there?"

"Oh, uh. Just a friend of mine. I helped his grandfather restore some of the Chinese swords back on L5." Matilda raised and eyebrow. "Wufei… Chang. You remember him?"

"Nah, I don't remember you mentioning him," she said. "But anyway. I wanna see if I can get a new pair of sai; my other pair were in the Gundam, and I couldn't find them in the wreck."

From where he was in the vinyl-floored backroom, Wufei could hear perfectly what Jayde and this other girl were talking about.

"… my other pair were in the Gundam…" That was all that he needed. He got to his feet and grabbed his jacket, planning to make an excuse to leave just when they walked through the door. His eyes widened at the sight of who Jayde was talking to.

"In a hurry, Fei?" Jayde asked, her ash-grey eyes piercing into his. "This is Matilda, by the way. She's from-"

"Australia," she cut her off suddenly, "the Gold Coast, actually. My parents moved there when I was little, so I decided to come back and visit Jayde."

"Yeah, um. I was just gunna show her the new swords shipped in from L5. Real nice stuff. You said something about them before." She heaved a wooden box onto her empty seat, before prying open the lid with a screwdriver from the counter.

He didn't really have a choice whether he could stay or leave, that was the problem with Jayde; always so pushy. She dug around the foam stuffed box, pulled out three pairs of things that looked like silver daggers, and threw a pair each to Wufei and Matilda, who both expertly caught them.

"Newly made sai. Pure silver, hand engraved. Each of them are one-of-a-kind," she said, pulling out another silvery weapon in the form of a long, flawless, slightly bent, tube. "This one's a katana made completely of lightweight Gundainium." She unsheathed the Japanese sword. The handle was completely level with the case, which meant that it had no hand guard; just an extremely sharpened blade against an unblemished, metallic handle.

"Can I try them out?" Matilda said, "The sai I mean." She was itching to feel the cool metal pressed tight against her hands.

"Yeah, sure. I reckon you can just jump the fence and use the warehouse next door; it's been abandoned for months." Jayde's shop was small, the front was jam-packed with weapons for sale, and upstairs was even worse; her brother and her had to share the shop house so there wasn't much room, let alone personal space.

Gripping onto the sai, Matilda found footholds in rotting lattice against the brick fence in the small courtyard outside and climbed over. She soon heard the sound of someone landing behind her; Wufei. "Where's Jayde?" she asked, pushing open the rusted back door to the warehouse.

"Putting up the new weapons. There were a couple of people walking in when I left, so I thought best to leave her alone," he replied in a smooth, flat voice.

Shrugging it off, she stepped into the old building. Light streamed in from the dusty windows set high in the walls, giving just enough sunlight to see the whole warehouse. Old couches and chairs were piled up in one corner, and bits of scrap metal in the other.

"Well this place obviously hasn't been used for more than a year." Wufei's voice echoed around the warehouse. She inwardly rolled her eyes before picking out the back of a lone chair and throwing one of the sai at it, hitting the dead centre.

"But the furniture's good for targeting," she said, walking over to retrieve it. "So what draws your interest to _that_ sword? Pure Gundainium? Or just the beauty?"

"Beauty is hardly a factor," he said, lunging at her back, only to have her sidestep his attack. "Lightweight… efficient… balanced…" he said with every swing.

"But yet," twirling both sai in her hands, she sliced at Wufei, "it has… no hand guard." She dodged, then lunged, sidestepped and did a low kick, knocking him off his feet.

Springing back up, he attacked again, brushing off the fact that he felt badly winded from the fall. "Safety is hardly an issue. What _is_ the point of having such a precise, honourable weapon if you can't even use it properly, let alone defend yourself." He did a sort of jump-kick to try and knock the sai away from her hands, but only heard one hit the ground.

"Ouch, where'd you learn that one from?" she asked, bending down and snatching the fallen instrument and twirling it again in her hand."

He smirked, "I see you've been watching too many movies… I think I've seen that trick in _Elektra_, if I'm not wrong."

"_Couch potato_," she muttered under her breath, Wufei sent her a piercing glare. The fact that there was not much ventilation in the warehouse caused them to tire quickly. Matilda movements were starting to become sluggish when he knocked her to the ground with a roundhouse kick and pressed the blade of the katana to her throat.

"So why did you lie about where you came from?" he smirked, with a sense of pride that he had already defeated his target and could easily take her in to Une that very moment. She somehow managed to flip the scenario so that he was lying flat on his back and she had a sai pressing into his side.

"I didn't lie. Jayde just likes to say that I was born here and we're half sisters or something." They rolled over again. A piece of sharp metal was digging into her thigh, and the fact that Wufei was putting his full weight on her made it even worse.

"Cut the crap, Royal," he breathed, "I know who you are." Her throat tightened. "You're the pilot of the _illegal_ Gundam, that was destroyed five weeks ago."

"You better leave and get off me right now before I get the RSO on your sorry little ass!" she shouted, hoping that would get him off her case.

"Nyx, I think it's called," he continued, like she hadn't said anything, "The Greek goddess of night. The barer of Fate and Death." She gave up trying to struggle against him, and became very still under his weight. "I _know_ you were born in Australia, and I also know that you were in Brooklyn two weeks ago. I came to your auto shop with my friend; the two Kawasaki bikes."

Her face was expressionless. "So what? You knew me from the auto shop, and heck, you can get all of that information from hacking into the databases up here, so _why wont you let me go_!" she yelled, somehow pushing Wufei off of her and getting to her feet.

"I need you to do me a favour."

"I don't do favours," she huffed.

"Fix a mobile suit."

"Anyone can do that, why me?"

"It's a Gundam."

She stopped, and turned to look at him.

"It's _my_ Gundam."


	6. Chapter 5

Author's Note: Gundam Wing is not mine.

_"Matilda, come down here for a sec."_

_The then thirteen-year-old girl bounced down the stairs of her brothers house, coming into the kitchen to see three men, one of which was her brother._

_"This is Lieutenant Vesque and his son, Marcus," Terry said._

_"Miss Darwin-Royal, a pleasure to meet you." Vesque held out his hand and she cautiously shook it. "Marcus was around your age when he started with the RSO, and look at him now! Top of his class, and he even wiped out some of the graduating class." Marcus blushed furiously at the mention of his achievements._

_"Aw, come on, Marc. Nothing to be ashamed about," Terry said. "Some people would have killed to get that far in training back when I did it." Marcus made a stifled noise and had suddenly found his trainers extremely interesting._

_"So you will be joining us in the next year or so, Matilda?" the Lieutenant asked._

_"Three months until I finish my school year back on ear-"_

_Shattering the glass, a bullet flew past her face and embedded itself into the wall. In an instant, Matilda and Marcus had dived under the kitchen table, while her brother and Levesque both pulled out guns and fell to the floor. "Get back to the RSO," Terry hissed as a hail of bullets shattered the remaining windows, none of them reaching their targets._

_Her heart pounding against her ribs, she darted up the stairs, Marcus on her tail. "Where are you going!" he yelled over the roar of gunshot below them._

_"Last room on the right," she yelled back, "Out the window!" She ran into the room that was Terry's study and clambered onto his desk, desperately trying to push open the pane window just above her reach._

_"Move aside." With a hardcover book in his hand, Marcus smashed the jammed window, shards of glass flying everywhere. "Up you get! He expertly grabbed her by the waist and held her up so that she could climb out the window. The jagged glass sliced into her hands, but it was nothing compared to the adrenaline rushing through her system, which put her body on autopilot as she jumped out of the window and grabbed onto a thick branch of the oak tree outside the house. Turning her head, Matilda saw that Marcus was doing the same thing, and stumbled along the branch until she found her way to the bottom in her neighbours yard._

_"Now what?" she breathed._

_"Now, we run." They took off down the street, feet pounding on the footpath in a continuous beat. "Do you have a Metro Card or with you?"_

_"No! Why would I?!"_

_"I was afraid you'd say that." He jumped down the stairs to the subway, handing her a card in the process. "You go first, I'll follow. Just act like you're late, and take 223 to the city," he said as they slowed down to a jog._

_Matilda hurriedly swiped the card and jogged towards the platforms. Seeing the numbers 223 flashing on the overhead screen, she made a run for the closing doors, just managing to slip through before they closed. Moving away from the doors, she caught a glimpse of Marcus at the other side of the carriage and made her way to him._

_"Do you think Terry's okay?" she asked quietly, catching her breath._

_"I dunno, Matilda. But I know Dad 'n Terry will come out alive."_

_"How do you know that?" she turned to face him, slowly starting to cool off from the adrenaline rush._

_"What's the point of training for five years and not coming out alive?" he grinned, as she rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes._

x.x.x

"Matilda, coffee!"

Elliott's voice rang through the silent apartment. He shut the door behind him and set the coffee down on the kitchen counter. Artificial sunlight streamed through the half closed blinds, touching the particles of dust floating in the air.

"Ell, it's too early," Matilda muttered, coming out of her bedroom -dragging her feet- and plopping on the couch. He handed her one of the steaming Styrofoam cups, as she flicked on the news on television.

"Six isn't early." He gulped down the miracle liquid, "And plus, you've gotta work on that guys Gundam today."

She leaned back in the couch, running a hand through her messed up hair. "I have a bad feeling about him," she mumbled.

"Hmmmmm?" He cast her a sideways glance from the report on the screen. "I thought he was Jayde's friend." She muttered something under her breath and sank further back into the couch, finishing up the dregs of her coffee.

Silence Followed. Matilda's gaze was fixed on the television set and his was on her. He didn't find her _attractive_ in what majority of the male population would call it, he has who she truly was; a strong, brave, seventeen-year-old, who had witnessed more death than the devil himself. Sure he though she had filled out with a growth spurt in the last few years, but he couldn't help but feel that if anyone wanted to claim her for their own, they'd have to see past the glamour that hid her so well.

"What's up?" she questioned when she found him staring into space.

"Erm… nothing, just thinking about that Wufei guy."

"What about him," she raised an eyebrow.

"He, I mean… Do you think he's connected to Yuy?" He hunched his shoulders and leaned forward, plunging back into his state of mind. "He knows that you're a Gundam pilot, and _he's_ one too; so maybe he's linked with him."

"There's no proof," she said slowly, "All that stuff in the 195 War, no one thought to keep tabs."

"But yet, everyone knows who that Heero guy is." Elliott fiddled around with his pocket for a moment and pulled a tiny memory card, pair of expensive looking sunglasses, and a plain, gold ring threaded through a silver necklace chain. "On a different note though; look what I came up with last week."

"Ooh. More gadgety stuff." She rubbed her hands together and peered at the three objects.

"Modified X-D card. Plug it into any device and it will allow you to download whatever files are on it straight to your laptop, and it'll have no trace since its external," he said. "This one," he held up the sunglasses, "Is pretty awesome. Put them on and it will give you visual calculations of practically everything; distance, volume, velocity, and probability." She picked up the sunglasses and slipped them on. "God, I feel like Smithers from Alex Rider," he muttered.

"And the ring necklace thing?" she asked, holding it up.

"Is a present for you since I forgot to send you something on your birthday; happy birthday, Matilda." She let out a laugh before giving him a hug and putting it on.

"Elliott? Is there any reason you're giving me this stuff? Besides the necklace, that is."

"Well heck, if you don't want it, I'll have it back!" He placed the gadgets on the coffee table. "But no, no specific reason. Although, I remember you telling Marc you wanted a pair of Chanel sunglasses once…"

She smiled, "That was _ages_ ago, back when I saw Leah try on a pair of them on Earth!"

"So you're not still touchy about the whole Marc thing, right?" he said, leaning back into the couch.

"Oh, so _this_ is where it's leading," she laughed again. "Nah, I'm not. I'm over it. It's been almost two years since. I've gotta move on some time."

"That's the Mattie I know and love."


	7. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Yay. Got a new laptop, but it's TINY; so hard to type. So please give me a shout if you see spelling errors, ect… my unofficial Beta has gone MIA to Miami… =S. The email addresses in this chapter are completely made up, so please don't go adding them on IM or whatever…

And yes, this is pretty short. Sorry. Writer's block, gahh. Blame that Lady Gaga song!

Gundam Wing is not mine. Period.

_To: Matilda Royal .com;_

_From: Wufei Chang ;_

_Subject: Regarding the XXXG-01S2 Repairs_

_Matilda,_

_Attached are the specifications for the components that need to be repaired. It would be appreciated if they could be reviewed and your reply be sent no later than the 24__th__ of May. As for the location of the Gundam, I have been given strict orders by the landlord of the hangar it is in, not to disclose its whereabouts until I receive your affirmation. Through the company I work for, I can claim all repair costs of up to $500,000 USD._

Damage to Body: Extensive denting and tears to torso, mechanical malfunctions when controlling lower movements.

Damage to Fixed Arrangements: Shenlong Shield slight damage, right Vulcan gun missing components.

Internal Systems: Damaged LCD screens, disconnected –possibly severed- wires under control panel.

_Yours sincerely,_

_Wufei Chang_

_To: Wufei Chang ;_

_From: Matilda Royal .com;_

_Subject: RE: Regarding the XXXG-01S2 Repairs_

_Give me the address or at least your phone number; I have a sufficient amount of Gundainium Alloy to cover the repairs. Meet me outside the Starbucks on Granadilla Road at 12:00 tomorrow._

_Matt_

x.x.x

The Starbucks in the city CBD was bustling, mainly because it was 12 and everybody was on their lunch break. With her classic black coffee in her hand, she sat down at one of the empty tables and watched the passersby; each one of them too busy with their own lives to notice the dark haired girl sitting alone, looking bored. She sipped some of the steaming, black liquid as the chair in front of her scraping against the cold concrete as it was pulled outwards and a figure sat. He had the expression of an office worker fresh from university, young and keen minded, but already bored with his job.

"You see that fellow over there?" Matilda said after a moment of silence, "The one with the navy windbreaker on; he's been hired to murder the courier coming out of the café across the street." She didn't even make eye contact with former pilot; she just kept her eyes on the young boy in the jacket.

"How do you know? Prediction is only worth half of your word," he said with a prickly sense of being higher than her, "There is only a slim chance that that would happen, so why waste your breath?"

The courier, wearing a bright orange, reflective jacket, walked out of the café and towards his bike. Across the street, the jacketed boy picked up his pace and sprinted across the busy road, right as he passed the courier, he flicked out a switchblade and dragged it along his side. His bike faltered, and he followed, crashing to the ground with the inevitable blossoming red on his side.

"Come on." Matilda grabbed her bag and hurried out of the area, Wufei by her side. Soon enough, there was a scream, then the sound of screeching tires and shattering glass.

Stunned, Wufei turned to look at her. "How did you know…?" Silence followed. Only when they were a good three blocks from the scene, and she was pulling out her car keys did she speak up.

"The guy in the windbreaker didn't fit in. This is… well, that _was_ the CBD. Only people with business stick around there; lawyers, CEOs, office trainees… those people, that guy was just loitering. And he was looking nervous," she said, unlocking the car and pressing the keys into Wufei's hands. "Drive now, talk later."

Looking bewildered, he got into the black convertible and pulled away from the gutter, heading towards the highway. "How did you know it was him?"

"When you've lived on this Colony for long enough, you'll understand. Now, where are we going?"

"My apartment... My _friend's_ apartment," he corrected, answering her questioning expression.

Three hours later, Matilda was woken up to the sound of a blaring horn and shouting. Muttering something along the lines of glass-mole, she let out a yawn and sat up in her seat, taking in the scene before her. She raised an eyebrow, "Whaddidyado this time, Chang?"

"This idiot just pulled up in front of me- Woman! Where are you going?"

"You," she pointed to him, "Stay in the car." Fuming, he hopped out of the car, but she sent him a warning glare. She smiled as she walked up to the flaming-red car, "Hey, Elliott." She smirked and leaned against the half open window.

"Who you with, Matt, that Chang fella? Looked like he was trying to kidnap you." He pushed his sunglasses up onto his forehead. "I told you he was trouble."

"He abides the law too much for his own good." She rolled her eyes. "Reckon he'd make a good addition to the RSO?" she joked, straightening up.

"Sure. If you completely turn him around and make him follow the RSO rules, then yeah. I mean, he hasn't had _anything_ against his name, just that spiky aura or pride." He revved up the sport car and waved Matilda off, before leaving her in a cloud of smoke.

Wufei raised an eyebrow then got back into her car, "Who was that?"

"A friend," she said simply, "No more questions. Drive."

x.x.x

Twenty kilometers away in a rundown library by the artificial river, Quatre Winner received a text message from Wufei Chang.

_Get the mansion ready. I'm bringing her home._

Sporting a rare, mischievous grin, he darted outside of the library and started to dial the number for his desert mansion.


End file.
